


Norman

by possumdnp



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-10-04 04:56:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20465366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/possumdnp/pseuds/possumdnp
Summary: Dan and Phil ponder life as they watch their new fish.





	Norman

“I guess we can cancel our Netflix subscription, then?” Dan says from behind him, and Phil jumps a little. “You’ve been watching the fish for half an hour.”

“He’s _betta_ entertainment than anything else we’re watching.”

Dan groans. “I swear, you’ve made five puns today alone. _Stop.”_

Phil just smirks and continues to watch the fish, who is currently investigating the mossy log in the back of the tank.

“What’re you thinking about?” Dan’s hand comes to rest on Phil’s shoulder. “You look like you’re contemplating all the mysteries of the universe.”

“What if I am?”

“Then I’d say you’ve been hanging around me too long. I thought existentialism is my thing.”

“I’m not having a crisis,” Phil says. “He’s just really relaxing to watch. I feel like I’m meditating when I watch him swim around.”

Dan pulls up a chair next to Phil and settles in. They’re quiet as they watch the fish together. His movements are bolder than this morning, when they’d first introduced him to the tank, but he’s still timid and slow as he gets used to his new environment. He still hasn’t swam through the hole in the rocks that Dan had so painstakingly glued together, but that’s okay. There’s time.

Phil sometimes wishes he could have such a simple life. When things turn stressful, he wishes his only worries could be eating food and swimming around and investigating rocks and moss. It would be like being a child again. He sometimes gets nostalgic and wishes he could go back to the days of his parents feeding him home-cooked food every night and indulging in his imaginative games.

But realistically, he knows he very much likes being an independent adult human. He would miss having busy days and having a purpose. He gets bored easily and would hate being stuck in a fishtank. He likes to move around and try new things. Whenever he and Dan force themselves to take a break, like their annual start-of-the-year pajama week, Phil always grows restless, wanting to get back to work. That’s not a good thing, he knows. It’s something he’s trying to get better at.

That’s what this fish is for. Having a pet is technically work too, but it’s good work, something productive yet personally meaningful. They’ve both wanted a pet for a long time, and they’ll love this fish and care for him as much as they will their future dog. They can channel their energy into helping their fish have the best life possible.

And it’ll help them, too. The day after Phil brought up the idea of getting a fish, he walked into the lounge to find Dan watching videos of betta fish swimming, with instrumental music playing in the background. Dan’s been carrying around far less tension since June, but he’d had the most peaceful expression watching those fish on the screen. That’s when Phil knew that a fish would be the perfect addition to their lives.

Now that their betta is here in their home, he knows that it’s true. He doesn’t know if fish can be perfect, but this little guy might just fit the bill. He’s _theirs._ They can watch as he swims around the tank they carefully designed for him to have a happy life in. They can watch as the light reflects off the blue and black scales, and revel in the fact that they’ve found a pet that somehow fits their combined aesthetics.

“Really then?” Dan says, his voice breaking through the comfortable quiet between them. “Nothing on your mind?”

“Not really. I’m just happy, I think.”

“That’s good.” Dan smiles and laces their fingers together. “I’m happy, too.”

“I suppose I’ve also been thinking about names. How about Bernard?” They’ve been throwing around names the past few days. None have stuck yet.

“We’re not naming our betta _Bernard,_ Phil. I told you, alliterative names are tacky.”

“What about Norman, then?”

“Is that a Norman Bates pun? _Phil._ What is it with you and puns today?”

“He’s our fish son. I need to step up my dad-joke game.”

Dan laughs. “I want to be disappointed with you, but I actually really like Norman. It suits him.”

They watch, entranced as the newly-named Norman swims to investigate the grass in the corner, his fins moving through the water elegantly.

“I feel grown up. Is that weird?” Dan says. “That I’m 28 and have done so much, and yet it’s a fucking fish that makes me think, yup, I’m an adult now?”

“Don’t swear in front of our child.”

Dan gives him a look. “Like, I know we’re joking, but I feel like he’s actually part of the family. We’re a family now, Phil.”

“We weren’t a family before? Two can be a family.”

“You’re a sap. And now we’re three. The two of us and our fish.”

Phil squeezes his hand. “I don’t think it’s weird to suddenly feel grown up. Like, sometimes we’re sitting in meetings, and I’m like, _why are people looking to me to make important decisions?_ And then I remember that I’m actually an adult, even though half the time, I still feel like a kid, like I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Yeah?” Dan’s voice is soft. “And do you know what you’re doing now?”

Phil smiles. “I’m watching our fish with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Reblog on tumblr [here!](https://possumdnp.tumblr.com/post/187400938400/norman-rated-g-900-words-dan-and-phil-ponder-life)


End file.
